Item Biography
Cover is a montage of the original covers from the stories reprinted.
Frontispiece by Marie Severin, black & white, with table of contents.
"Face-to-Face with...the Lizard!" (X-440).
Reprinted from Amazing Spider-Man (1963) #6.
Reported sightings of a man-sized talking lizard terrorizing the Florida Everglades have been filling the news, and J. Jonah Jameson publicly challenges Spider-Man to tackle the "Lizard". Peter Parker asks Jameson to send him down to shoot the fight. Peter has done his research, and pays a visit to Doctor Curtis Connors, a local expert in reptiles. He finds Connors' crying wife who explains that her husband IS the Lizard. Dr. Connors' experiments in reptilian regrowth were meant to find him a way to replace his lost arm, but instead turned him into a monster. Spider-Man concocts a remedy that he must force-feed to the Lizard to bring the Doctor back to humanity. 21 pages.
First appearance of Dr. Curt Connors, the Lizard.
No Title Given featuring the Human Torch (V-846) by Stan Lee and Kirby/Ayers. 13 pages.
Reprinted from Strange Tales (1951) #101.
"The Mighty Thor vs. The Executioner" by Lee/Lieber and Kirby/Ayers. 13 pages.
Reprinted from Journey into Mystery (1952) #84.
Don Blake is a successful doctor, yet cannot tell his assistant, Nurse Jane Foster, that he loves her, as his physical handicap has undermined his confidence. Revolution has broken out in the European country of San Diablo, and the need for medical professionals is great. Dr. Blake and Nurse Foster join a ship bound for the country, but it is attacked by the new Fascist Dictator of San Diablo, the Executioner (note: not the same character as the Asgardian God). Blake transforms into Thor, and routes the evil regime. Jane is smitten by Thor.
First appearance of Jane Foster.